The perfect itinerary for those travelling to Europe for the first-time wanting to get a taste of it all! This affordable Cosmos package stretches through Central Europe from London to Rome, along the Mediterranean to Spain and France before taking the Euro-star train back to London. Combined with a stopover in vibrant Hong Kong on the way, you have one well-rounded O.E!
30 days departing 27 May 2017
From $10,499, twin share
When booked and deposited by 13 September 2016
Package includes:
– Return economy airfares from Auckland (including taxes)
– 3 night stopover in Hong Kong including accommodation, city sightseeing tour and night lights cruise 24 day Cosmos “The Grand European” tour
– 1 pre tour night in London
– Breakfast daily plus 8 dinners
– Professional Tour Director throughout the European tour with a knowledgeable local guide in Singapore
– Highlights include Heidelberg, Swiss Alps, Lucerne, Lugano, Verona, Venice, Assisi, Pisa, Avignon, Carcassonne, Burgos, Bilbao, Cognac region, Bordeaux, Orleans, Chateaux country and Paris.
– First class air-conditioned coach with complimentary wi-fi through Europe; canal transfer boat in Venice
– Airport transfers in Singapore, London and Paris
– Gratuities for Tour Director & Driver included
– Escort to travel with you from Auckland to London (incl Singapore stopover)
For more information call 0800 267 672 or email groups@globusfamily.co.nz
Full day-to-day itinerary
Day 1 – Saturday 27 May
AUCKLAND – SINGAPORE
This morning we meet at Auckland Airport for the start of our journey. We arrive in Singapore in the evening and transfer to our hotel.
Day 2 – Sunday 28 May
HONG KONG
This morning’s sightseeing begins with a CABLE-CAR RIDE up Victoria Peak for panoramic vistas of this one-of-a-kind port city. Drive by Repulse Bay, a popular beach area, then to the Aberdeen fishing village for a SAMPAN RIDE on the harbour. Next stop is STANLEY MARKET, a narrow street jammed with stalls offering clothing, arts, and crafts. This evening we enjoy dinner at a local restaurant before experiencing the lights of Hong Kong from the sea. (B, D)
Day 3 – Monday 29 May
HONG KONG
Enjoy today at leisure to explore more of this vibrant city. Perhaps join one of the optional excursions to Lantau Island or Macau. (B)
Day 4 – Tuesday 30 May
HONG KONG – LONDON
After enjoying breakfast this morning, we transfer to the airport for our flight to London, England. On arrival in London in the early evening, we will be transferred to our hotel where we spend the next two nights. (B)
Day 5 – Wednesday 31 May
LONDON
Enjoy today at leisure to rest and adjust to the time zone or talk to our Cosmos hosts at the hotel for ideas on places to explore in this vibrant city. Join an optional excursion to the Tower of London or perhaps visit Oxford Street for a spot of shopping. (B)
Day 6 – Thursday 01 June
LONDON
A full day to savour our rich program of optional activities: take a panoramic tour of London’s landmark, or choose an excursion to Windsor Castle. Tonight maybe a leisurely cruise on the Thames River? (B)
Day 7 – Friday 02 June
LONDON – AMSTERDAM AREA, HOLLAND
Leave London in the early morning and head through the lush English countryside to the Channel port, where you embark on your FERRY for the Continent. Meet your Tour Director and board your luxury coach for the drive to the Amsterdam area. (B)
Day 8 – Saturday 03 June
AMSTERDAM AREA – RHINELAND, GERMANY
Today, enjoy a CANAL CRUISE to see the city from water level, then watch the cutting and polishing of precious stones at a DIAMOND CENTRE in Amsterdam. Later, sightseeing with a Local Guide points out the city highlights. In the afternoon, travel southward to the Rhineland area for an overnight. (B, D)
Day 9 – Sunday 04 June
RHINELAND – HEIDELBERG – LUCERNE AREA, SWITZERLAND
Drive through the scenic Rhineland this morning or, alternatively, take the optional Rhine River cruise and enjoy splendid scenery including the Lorelei rock. Next, drive into Germany’s oldest university town, Heidelberg, nicely located at the confluence of the Neckar and Rhine Rivers, for a short visit. In the afternoon, travel by way of the Autobahn into Switzerland for two overnights in the Lucerne area. (B, D)
Day 10 – Monday 05 June
LUCERNE
One of Switzerland’s finest cities, Lucerne is nestled amid its snowcapped Alps, surrounded by its lake, and graced by the clear mountain waters of the Reuss River. Your visit takes in the impressive city walls, CHAPEL BRIDGE, ornate patrician houses lining cobblestone streets, and the LION MONUMENT-a masterful stone sculpture in honour of the heroic Swiss Guard of Louis XVI. A grand selection of optional activities completes the day: a cruise on the fjord-like lake or a cable-car ride to the 3,048-metre (10,000-foot) summit of Mount Titlis. (B)
Day 11 – Tuesday 06 June
LUCERNE AREA – LUGANO – VERONA, ITALY – VENICE AREA
More wonderful Alpine scenery as you drive into the mountain ranges that surround the massive St. Gotthard. Once through its great tunnel, you’ll start your scenic descent into the warmer and sunnier ambiance of Canton Ticino. Stop in beautiful Lugano and take a stroll along the lakeside promenade. Then, cross into Italy and drive across the Po Valley to Verona, medieval setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. See Juliet’s house and balcony, and stroll around the picturesque market square. Tonight you are in the Venice area. (B)
Day 12 – Wednesday 07 June
VENICE AREA
Venice is more like a marvellous film set than a real-life city, with its criss-crossing canals, gondolas and water buses, arched bridges, and palaces. The included orientation starts with a BOAT RIDE to St. Mark’s Square and is followed by some time at leisure and a chance to watch Venetian GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects as they did centuries ago. Don’t miss out on the optional gondola trip, gliding along the picturesque canals with a local troubadour to serenade you. (B, D)
Day 13 – Thursday 08 June
VENICES AREA – ASSISI – ROME
An interesting drive southward, cutting across the Po Delta, and through the gentle Umbrian hills to Assisi, where St. Francis was born in 1182. Visit the world-famous BASILICA with its beautiful frescoes by Giotto, then head for Rome. (B)
Day 14 – Friday 09 June
ROME
The “Eternal City”-a city steeped in history, vibrantly alive and exciting, and absolutely unique! Included sightseeing with a Local Guide starts in St. Peter’s Square, followed by a visit to the ROMAN FORUM and the mighty COLOSSEUM. (B)
Day 15 – Saturday 10 June
ROME – PISA – FLORENCE
Vistas of undulating hills, rows of cypress trees, terraced vineyards, olive groves, and rural villages form the backdrop of your journey through beautiful Tuscany. Take a break in Pisa to see the SQUARE OF MIRACLES and the amazing Leaning Tower, then on to Florence. (B)
Day 16 – Sunday 11 June
FLORENCE
This Renaissance gem and city of the Medicis will keep you enthralled for a whole day. Traffic is banned in part of the historic centre, so visitors can wander at leisure and admire the city’s timeless beauty in relative peace and quiet. Don’t miss out on the included walking tour with a Local Guide that features most of the city highlights. You will see Piazza Santa Croce; beautiful Piazza Signoria; Palazzo Vecchio; Loggia dei Lanzi; and, to top it all, Piazza del Duomo and its cathedral with the Giotto Campanile, and the magnificent East Door of the Baptistry, known as the “Gate of Paradise.” Tonight, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. (B, D)
Day 17 – Monday 12 June
FLORENCE – ITALIAN RIVIERA – EZE, FRANCE – FRENCH RIVIERA
An early start this morning for the journey northwest with views of the Italian Riviera. Continue to France for a visit to a PERFUME WORKSHOP in Eze before travelling along the celebrated Cote d’Azur. An optional Monte Carlo by Night excursion with dinner is available. (B)
Day 18 – Tuesday 13 June
FRENCH RIVIERA – AVIGNON – CARCASSONNE
Today’s journey will take you through some of France’s loveliest scenery, sun-drenched landscapes right out of Van Gogh’s paintings, on the way through Provence. Stop for a visit in historic Avignon. Continue westwards to the impressive walled city of Carcassonne for an overnight. (B, D)
Day 19 – Wednesday 14 June
CARCASSONNE – BARCELONA, SPAIN
Enjoy a visit of this almost-untouched piece of medieval fortified architecture, still standing in all its walled glory with drawbridges, towers, battlements, watch turrets, ramparts, and even arrow-slits to repel the enemy. Later, drive by way of Perpignan across the border into Spain, to arrive in Barcelona for two overnights. (B)
Day 20 – Thursday 15 June
BARCELONA
This morning’s sightseeing with a Local Guide includes a drive around Montjuic to see the Olympic Stadium and a panoramic view of the port and city. The drive continues to the city centre to Plaza Catalunya and Paseo de Gracia to admire the greatness and eccentricity of Gaudi’s architectural masterpieces in the Houses Batllo and Mila and the Sagrada Familia (entrance fees not included). (B)
Day 21 – Friday 16 June
BARCELONA – MADRID
See more of Catalonia as you drive northwest via Saragossa through the very heart of new Castille for two overnights in Spain’s capital, Madrid. (B)
Day 22 – Saturday 17 June
MADRID
Not only because it’s the capital of Spain, but also because it is situated 665 metres (2,180 feet) above sea level, the Spaniards say Madrid is the nearest thing to heaven. Enjoy the main highlights on the included sightseeing excursion. The optional trip to Toledo is most rewarding, too. The splendid setting is like a great open-air museum of Spanish history and art. (B, D)
Day 23 – Sunday 18 June
MADRID – BURGOS – BILBAO
Climb Somosierra Pass, the boundary between Old and New Castille, before stopping in Burgos to visit the beautiful cathedral. On through Basque Country to Bilbao, now famous for four contemporary architects: Norman Foster, Santiago Calatrava, Cesar Pelli, and Frank Gehry. (B, D)
Day 24 – Monday 19 June
BILBAO – BORBEAUX, FRANCE – POITIERS
A change of scenery as you travel into France across Gascony for an orientation of Bordeaux, the wine capital of France. Travel farther north by way of the Cognac area to Poitiers, of Black Prince fame. (B, D)
Day 25 – Tuesday 20 June
POITIERS – CHATEAUX COUNTRY – ORLEANS – PARIS
The autoroute L’Aquitaine will take you directly to Tours and along the Loire, passing the castles of Amboise and Chaumont. Stop in Orleans before reaching Paris in time to enjoy an optional excursion. (B)
Day 26 – Wednesday 21 June
PARIS
A full day to explore the city that’s known throughout the world for its fashions, art and museums, delicious food, and joie de vivre. Included sightseeing with a local expert shows off many of the best-known Parisian sights: La Sorbonne, Arc de Triomphe, Opera, Madeleine, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramid near the Louvre, the Invalides, and Champs Elysees. Optional excursions are also available to the Palace and Gardens of Versailles. (B)
Day 27 – Thursday 22 June
PARIS – LONDON
Relax on your EUROSTAR journey back to London. (B)
Day 28 – Friday 23 June
LONDON
This morning and early afternoon is yours to discover more of this diverse metropolis. You could explore the 900-year –old Tower of London with its fabulous Crown Jewels, take a flight on the London Eye, or stretch your legs with a walk through Hyde Park. Take some time at the hotel to freshen up for your flight this evening, as we have arranged a late check out until 6pm, which is when your shuttle will depart for Heathrow Airport. (B)
Day 29 – Saturday 24 June
HONG KONG – transit
Day 30 – Sunday 25 June
HONG KONG – AUCKLAND Our journey ends today on arrival back into Auckland airport, in the late morning.
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